Affiliation

Occupation

Loyalty

"We can push it off on the kids. Yeah, that's what we'll do. We'll say Alecto was ambushed by the kids, them kids up there, and we'll say they forced her to press her Mark, and that's why he got a false alarm... He can punish them. Couple of kids more or less, what's the difference?"

As the two Death Eaters closed in after him, one of them cast a spell that sent Harry to the ground. Harry hit one of them, who stumbled and fell, tripping up the other, with another Impediment Jinx. The two siblings then ran to the gates, and Disapparated beyond the school boundaries.[12]

Appointment at Hogwarts

"The other teachers are all supposed to refer us to the Carrows if we do anything wrong. They don't, though, if they can avoid it. You can tell they all hate them as much as we do. Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defence Against the Dark Arts, except now it's just the Dark Arts. We're supposed to practise the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions —"

As Deputy Headmasters, the Carrows were put in charge of all punishment. The members of faculty were obliged to report any rule-breaking student to them, although they did not if they could avoid it. Punishments given out by the Carrows included torture, via the Cruciatus Curse, as well as chaining students and corporal punishment in the form of beatings and slashes with knives.[15]

Once the Carrows realised they had no hold over Neville, particularly after the Death Eaters' failed attempt to abduct his grandmother, they planned to kill him or send him to Azkaban. As the Carrows chased him, Neville chose the Room of Requirement as a hideout and the rest of Dumbledore's Army soon followed his footsteps and moved into the room as the Carrows tried to hunt them down.[15]

Overthrow

Minerva McGonagall: "But let me make one thing very clear. You are not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not permit it."

Amycus Carrow: "Excuse me? It's not a case of what you'll permit, Minerva McGonagall. Your time's over. It's us what's in charge here now, and you'll back me up or you'll pay the price. (spits in her face)"

His sister was keeping watch when Harry arrived with Luna Lovegood. Alecto immediately touched her Dark Mark, letting Voldemort and all the Death Eaters know that they had got him. Alecto was immediately Stunned by Luna, but Amycus demanded Minerva McGonagall to let him into the Tower. Once inside, he saw his unconscious sister but no sign of Harry, as both he and Luna were hidden beneath his Invisibility Cloak. Aware that they were going to feel Voldemort's wrath if they did not hand him Harry, Amycus planned to pass it off on the students, and when Professor McGonagall objected calling Amycus a coward in the process, he spat in her face. This show of disrespect for both sentient life and McGonagall enraged Harry to the point of disregarding stealth and revealing himself by throwing a Cruciatus Curse at Amycus with such force that he slammed into the wall. Minerva McGonagall used a spell to conjure a net, and the siblings were tied up and hoisted into the air, where they were left dangling beneath the ceiling.[5]

Physical appearance

Amycus Carrow was squat and lumpy, with a lopsided leer and a wheezy giggle, much like his sister.[4] Hunched, he had a pallid, doughy face and tiny eyes.[5] He also had a pig-like face.[5] As a Death Eater, he bears the Dark Mark on his left inner forearm.

Personality and traits

Amycus was a sadistic man who enjoyed punishing and torturing students, ordering them to perform the Cruciatus Curse on students given detention.[15] He was also a coward, as he planned to blame the Ravenclaw students for allegedly forcing Alecto to press her Dark Mark so that they would be punished by Voldemort instead of himself and his sister. He was also arrogant as he demanded that McGonagall would support him.[5]

He was rude and offensive, banging hard on the door to Ravenclaw Tower when he failed to solve the riddle to open it, putting his face close to Minerva to command her support and ended up spitting in her face.[5] He was also hot-tempered, as seen by his responding with violence without warning.[4][5]

Amycus does not seem to be very bright as he was unable to answer the riddle to get into Ravenclaw Tower when asked by the eagle knocker on the door or give a reason why Harry Potter would go into Ravenclaw Tower when he was of Gryffindor House, when asked by Minerva McGonagall.

Teaching Skills: Amycus taught the Dark Arts to students during his time as a Professor at Hogwarts. He did have some noticeable skill in teaching, particularly to receptive students such as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. According to Neville Longbottom Crabbe and Goyle loved the class and it was the only subject in which they'd ever shown any talent. It is known that Amycus was a talented enough to teach students to successfully perform both the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse. However, Amycus's skill in teaching is most definitely questionable, even though he was able to teach students how to perform complex dark magic such as summoning Fiendfyre, he neglected to inform them of how to end the spell.

Etymology

Amycus

In Greek mythology, Amycus was the son of the sea god, Poseidon, and the nymph, Melia. He was a boxer as well as a soldier in the Trojan War. He eventually turned evil and was killed by Polydeuces, a son of Zeus and one of Jason's Argonauts.

"Amycus" is also genus of South American spiders.

"Amycus" may come from the Latin "amicus", meaning "friend" (however this is ironic, as Amycus is obviously not a 'friend' to the cause of good).

Carrow

In English, the word; "Carrow", can refer to two places. "Carrow" in Norfolk, or "Carraw" in Northumberland. The first is assumed to have its name derived from the Old English word "carr", meaning "rock", and a word of Celtic origin; "hoh", meaning "spur of a hill". While the second appears to have been named either after the plural of the Old English word "carr", or after a mixture of a form of "carr", and another Old English word; "raw", meaning "row".

It is also possible, that the surname was originally a shortened version of the Cornish surname; "Nancarrow".

Notes and references

↑Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 2 (Spinner's End) - - "You ask why I did not attempt to find him when he vanished. For the same reason that Avery, Yaxley, the Carrows, Greyback, Lucius” — he inclined his head slightly to Narcissa — “and many others did not attempt to find him." The Carrows must have been alive when Voldemort vanished.

↑See this interview; “Samantha: Was snape the only death eater who could produce a full patronus
J.K. Rowling: Yes, because a Patronus is used against things that the Death Eaters generally generate, or fight alongside. They would not need Patronuses.”